Dennis Jackson was a product developer
for the Wiltshire Cultery Company in
Nuanwading, Victoria, Australia.

In 1964 he came across the results of
a consumer survey conducted in the
United States. According to the
survey, most respondents
didn't know how to effectively sharpen
a knife.

In fact, 80% of those
surveyed didn't know
how to properly sharpen a
blade. More importantly,
most preferred to have someone
else sharpen their knives.

These
findings inspired
Jackson to invent a
self-sharpening knife.

The problem with sharpening knives
had much to do with the change in
blade material. Instead of soft carbon
steel, manufacturers were making
blades from hard stainless
steel, which is more difficult to
keep sharp.

Jackson's idea was to
make a scabbard
that contained a
spring loaded sharpening
block. The sharpening
block
would engage the blade's
cutting edge whenever
the knife
moved in and out of the
scabbard.

After some prototypes were
made, the company started doing
market research.

They selected
consumers
in Melbourne to
test the prototypes in their kitchens
for a six month period and to report their
experiences. The response from
consumers was very positive.

So, in 1969, a limited
production of a final
prototype was market tested
through
stores in
Perth, Australia to
further gauge consumer
response.

The sales from this test confirmed previous
research that indicated consumers wanted the
product.

In August, 1970 Staysharp
was then released nationwide
and throughout
the world to great success.

Wiltshire compiled
a patent portfolio and filed registrations in
35 countries for Staysharp as well
as for improved versions of
their invention including patents
for self-sharpening scissors.